Apparatus for imparting pulsations to a liquid within a container



1966 H. M. M. OTTEN 3,285,138

APPARATUS FOR IMPARTING PULSATIONS TO A LIQUID WITHIN A CONTAINER Filed July 22, 1964 JM mm Win 7% 5yMmw 4 M 7 WW United States Patent The-present invention relates to an improved device for pulsating a liquid in a column of the type wherein a flexible diaphragm is clamped in the wall of the column and closed air-filled space is provided behind the diaphragm to and from which compressed air is supplied and disr ice 2 by a ball andsocket joint 7 carried by the diaphragm adjacent its lower surface The said central rod 8 is attached to a lever 9 by means of a ball and socket joint 10. At 24, the lever 9 is pivoted to a hatch cover 11, which is removably fastened to the housing 5 by bolts 12. When the lever 9 is turned about the pivot 24, it engages the outer ends 13 and 14 of the stems 15 and 16 of valves 17 and 18 respectively. As shown in the figure there is room for a free stroke between the lever 9 and the ends 13 and 14 of .the valv'e stems so that the two valves can never be open at the sametime. The valves 17 and 18 in turn are. arranged tothereby open and close an air charged, the said supply and discharge being controlled I by the periodic movements of the diaphragm.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved pulsation imparting device wherein a circumferentially clamped resilient diaphragm can, by means of a rod fastened to its center, co-act with a valve mechanism for the supply and discharge of compressed air, which mechanism opens and closes supply channels and discharge channels respectively. By the use of such a valve arrangement in the pulsator instead of exteriorly operable valves as in devices of the prior art, the reliability is increased as will become apparent hereinafter.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the type described wherein the valve assembly can be easily exchanged when the pulsation mechanism is being overhauled. The moving parts of the device are preferably made of a self-lubricating bearing material, with the result .that lubrication is reduced to a minimum. A more specific object of the invention is the provision of a device of the .type described wherein the valve assembly consists of two valves with separate valve stems which lie in the same plane as the diaphragm attached central rod, and of a lever for successively alternately lifting the valves, the lever, being pivotally connected at one end to the wall of the closed space provided behind the' diaphragm and, at the other end, being fastened at an angle to the central rod by means of a ball and socket joint. Such an arrangement effectively provides the desirable co-ordination between the valve actuation and the movement of the diaphragm.

Another object of the invention is to provide good accessibility to the parts of the pulsator which lie within the closed space by providing the wall of the closed space which is opposite the diaphragm and the wall of said space to which the lever pivot is fastened with detachable portions. The detachable wall portion opposite the diaphragm may advantageously be constructed of transparent material to facilitate inspection of the diaphragm during operation of the device.

These and other objects of the invention and the principles and entire scope thereof will be more clearly understood from the following detailed discussion wherein an illustrative embodiment of the invention is described. The invention will be elucidated with reference to the illustrative embodiment shown in the attached drawing.

In the drawing, the figure is a vertical longitudinal sec- 9 tional view of the pulsator according to the invention.

With more specific reference to the drawing, the numeral 1 indicates the side wall of a pulsation column adapted to be filled with liquid. The pulsator is connected to this wall section and comprises a diaphragm 2 which is clamped between two annular flanges 3 and 4. The diaphragm 2 is composed of resilient material such as rubber or the like, and its central region is reinforced as by having increased thickness. A housing 5 is fastened to the annular flange 4 by means of bolts 6. A central rod 8 is secured to the central region of the diaphragm supply conduit 19.and an air discharge conduit 20 respectively. The valve stems 15 and 16 move in guide bushings 21 preferably composed of self-lubricating material, for instance of nylon with molybdenum disulfide.

' The'housing 5 communicates through a. conduit 22 with adjustment of the frequency of the pulsation.

The operation of the pulsator according to the present invention. is now set forth. Liquid pressure exerted in a downward direction on diaphragm 2 distends the central portion of the diaphragm downwardly thus pushing the central rod 8 axially downwardly. As a result of the downward movement of the rod-8, the lever 9 depresses the lvalve stem 15 thereby lifting the valve 17 and communicating space 23 with the air supply conduit 19. Via this conduit 19,. compressed air having a pressure exceeding the liquid-pressure exerted on the diaphragm is admitted to space 23. As a result, the diaphragm and the liquid resting on it are pushed upwards. As the diaphragm moves upwardlythe central rod 8 moves upwardly withitthus releasing the pressure exerted on valve stem 15 by lever 9 so that the supply of air to the space 23 via conduit 19 is againblocked by valve 17 under the action of valve spring 25. Upon continued upward movement of the central rod 8 valve 18 is lifted by lever 9 via valve stem 16 resulting in the communicating of the space 23 with the ambient air via the air discharge conduit 20. As the pressure in the space 23 again decreases below the liquid-pressure exerted on diaphragm 2, the diaphragm again distends downwardly pushing the central rod 8 downwardly.

Accordingly, the pressure exerted on valve stem 16 by lever 9 is released and the connection of the space 23 with air discharge channel 20 is blocked by valve 18 under the action of valve spring 26. Subsequently, compressed air is admitted again into space 23 via the air supply channel 19 as discussed hereinbefore continuing the cycling, thus maintaining a pulsating movement in the liquid within the column. The amplitude of the pulsation can be controlled by varying the amount of air supplied and discharged per unit time. The spring load on valve 18 is so adjusted that the said valve acts as a safety valve when the pressure in the space 23 becomes too high.

Lever 9 is shown provided with cylindrically or spherically curved recesses 27, which effectively eliminate the lateral pressure on the valve stems 15 and 16 which would otherwise be caused by the arcuate movement of the said lever. If the valve stems 15 and 16 were pinned or otherwise fixedly attached to the lever 9, movement of the two attachment points laterally upon pivoting of the lever 9 about the pin 24 would put such lateral pres sure on the valve stems 15 and 16 as might break them or cause them to seat poorly, since the valves and valve stems, in the embodiment illustrated, are obviously mounted for essentially reciprocatory linear movement, rather than compound arcuate and linear, reciprocatory mates this P ility of breakag'e'or malfunction since relative translational movement between the valve stem ends and lever can easily occur, yet the recesses 27 in herently tend to center the points where the valve stem ends contact the lever 9. The wall of the closed space which is opposite the diaphragm contains a detachable portion 28. To facilitate inspection of the pulsating movements during operation of the pulsator and especially to facilitate examination of the condition of' the diaphragm the wall portion 28 is preferably constructed of transparent material such as glass or clear plastic.

It should now be apparent that the improved pulsation providing device discussed herein effectively accomplishes each of the objects set forth hereinbefore and well illustrates the principles of the present invention. Inasmuch as the specific embodiment shown and described is susceptible of considerable modification without departing from these principles the inventionshould be understood as encompassing all such modifications as are within the spirit and scope .of the following claims.

I claim: i

1. Apparatus for imparting pulsations to a fluid within a container comprising: a container having a fluid therein; means defining a resilient diaphragm in a wall of the container, said diaphragm being arranged to communicate on one side thereof with said fluid and having the opposite side thereof presented exteriorly of the container; Wall means defining a fluid-tight chamber adjacent said container and communicating with said diaphragm opposite side; rod means operatively connected to said diaphragm and extending therefrom into said chamber; first conduit means arranged for communicating pressurized fluid to said chamber; second conduit means arranged for discharging pressurized fluid from said chamber; a first normally closed valve interposed in said first conduit means; a second normally closed valve interposed in said second conduit means and means connected to said rod and being alternately engageable With said valves to successively communicate saidchamher with said first and second conduits; said fluid, before pulsations have been established therein, exerting sufficient pressure on saiddiaphragm one side to distend said diaphragm outwardly of said container and to urge said alternately engage'able' means,"via said rod, into engagement with said first normally closed valve thereby opening said first normally closed valve.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said first and second valves each have a valve stem lying in an imaginary plane containing said rod and wherein said rod connected means comprises a lever positioned for alternate engagement of two laterally spaced oppositely facing surface portions thereof with said valve stems, said surface portions each having means defining an armate recess therein, said lever being pivotally connected at one end thereof to a portion of the wall means defining said chamber and at the other end thereof to said rod, the arcuate recesses effectively eliminating lateral pressure on said valve stems as the latter are engaged by the lever surface portions.

3; Apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein the lever is connected to the rod by means including a ball and diaphragm is composed of transparent material thereby providing means for facilitating observation ofsaid apparatus during operation thereof.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,067,613 7/1913 Lane 91-273 1,219,938 3/1917 Hamilton 91-273 2,558,979 7/1951 Pierce 92-5 1/ 1959 Platzer 9l273 MARTIN P. SCHWADRON, Primary Examiner. SAMUEL LEVINE, Examiner. g P. E. ,MASLOUSKY. Assistant Examiner. 

1. APPARATUS FOR IMPARTING PULSATIONS TO A FLUID WITHIN A CONTAINER COMPRISING: A CONTAINER HAVING A FLUID THEREIN; MEANS DEFINING A RESILIENT DIAPHRAGM IN A WALL OF THE CONTAINER, SAID DIAPHRAGM BEING ARRANGED TO COMMUNICATE ON ONE SIDE THEREOF WITH SAID FLUID AND HAVING THE OPPOSITE SIDE THEREOF PRESENTED EXTERIORLY OF THE CONTAINER; WALL MEANS DEFINING A FLUID-TIGHT CHAMBER ADJACENT SAID CONTAINER AND COMMUNICATING WITH SAID DIAPHRAGM OPPOSITE SIDE; ROD MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID DIAPHRAGM AND EXTENDING THEREFROM INTO SAID CHAMBER; FIRST CONDUIT MEANS ARRANGED FOR COMMUNICATING PRESSURIZED FLUID TO SAID CHAMBER; SECOND CONDUIT MEANS ARRANGED FOR DISCHARGING PRESSURIZED FLUID FROM SAID CHAMBER; A FIRST NORMALLY CLOSED VALVE INTERPOSED 